Louisville Bats history being made with "First Cast" tomorrow night
June 9, 2006 - International League (IL1)
Louisville Bats News Release
Louisville, Ky. (June 9, 2006) - World renowned BASS angler Kevin Wirth will make Minor League Baseball history Saturday when he brings his famed fishing skills to the dry land at Louisville Slugger Field. Wirth, a Kentucky native, will forgo the traditional first pitch to make a ceremonial "First Cast" from the pitcher's mound to home plate before the Louisville Bats take on the Indianapolis Indians, marking the first time the stunt has ever been performed in the team's history.
Wirth, ranked 6th in the CITGO Bassmaster Elite Series Angler of the Years standings, will perform his surf and turf act thanks to a special self-designed fishing rod with a baseball attached to the hook at the end of a heavy duty line. To further commemorate the event, the catcher will receive the historic first cast with a fishing net. The opportunity was facilitated by Bats sponsor Brown-Forman, the Louisville-based producer and marketer of quality consumer products. Wirth fishes for Team Early Times Whisky, which is part of Brown-Forman's distilled spirits product line.
"I'm honored that the Bats invited me to participate in this unique opportunity," said Wirth, a former Kentucky Derby jockey who finished 17th in the 1981 Kentucky Derby. "I've never done anything like this before. Usually the heaviest thing we'll cast on the water weighs much less than a baseball. This will definitely be a challenge, but I fully intend to cast a strike and give the fans something to cheer about."
Wirth will use his "First Cast" as a warm up before he heads back out on the water June 15 - 18 for the CITGO Bassmaster Elite Series Bluegrass Brawl at Kentucky Lake in Kentucky Dam Village.
Team Early Times consists of Wirth and three semi-pro teams based in Kentucky and Texas. Early Times Kentucky Whisky, is enjoyed in 28 countries around the world and the Early Times Mint Julep is the "Official Drink of the Kentucky Derbyâ¢." Brown-Forman Corporation is a diversified producer and marketer of fine quality consumer products, including Jack Daniel's, Early Times, Canadian Mist, Southern Comfort, Finlandia Vodka, Fetzer and Bolla Wines, Korbel California Champagnes, and Hartmann Luggage.
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